A few weeks ago in this space we had
an article, “The Cup of life” from a current student of Swami’s Institute.
Many readers wrote to us expressing their desire to have more articles from
the students. So here we are with another student’s article. This is
actually the transcription of a small talk given by Sri Chandrasekhar of I
MBA during the Morning Prayer sessions in the Institute.

There’s no end to the incarnations that God indulges in. He comes down for
various purposes. Sometimes He comes with a part of His glory, sometimes
with a fuller equipment of His splendor, sometimes for fulfilling a
particular task, while at times, He comes to transform an entire era of
time, an entire gamut of space.

‘For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil forces and for
the firm establishment of Dharma, I am born from age to age’.

This Divine assurance made by the Lord as Krishna is being fulfilled and we
are all blessed to be contemporaries of Bhagawan, witnessing Him as He mends
the very fabric of humanity and ushers in the ‘Golden Era’.

I would like to draw your attention to three of Swami’s profound
declarations. Bhagawan said, “My mission is to raise the consciousness of
man to a level, at which, he neither rejoices nor mourns over anything.”

Secondly, in a revelation given to Charles Penn, Swami exhorts to us, “Your
mission has begun. These are My words to you, My devotees. Each one of you
has a unique and valuable part to play in this lifetime… You are My
instruments from whom My love will pour forth. Only those whom I’ve called
can serve Me. I have prepared you for this work through many
incarnations...”

Finally, Bhagawan in His own commanding yet simple way, said, “My mission is
already accomplished. I’m only letting it unfold before your eyes.”

Now bearing these imposing declarations of Swami in mind, let us look at the
world around us. We still find negativity manifesting as hatred, violence,
disharmony and the like, in swollen proportions. So much so that even Mother
Earth is retorting to man’s actions in the form of earth quakes, volcanoes
and detrimental geographical changes. Nevertheless, Bhagawan’s resolve to
bring in the ‘Suvarna Yuga’, the Golden age, is His ‘Vajra Sankalpa’
(Diamond-like resolve) and at His command, the stars have to fall in place.
Why this incongruity then? Or, is there an incongruity at all? Is there
something happening behind the scenes which we do not readily see?

Swami says, “Mano moolam Idam Jagat”. The world, as we see it, is but a
reflection of the mind. If we find so much negativity around us, it just
goes to suggest the state of man’s mind. With the mind and Ego being the
focus of our lives, we hurt and inflict pain on each other. Life’s reins are
to a large extent held by the ego and every ego says, ‘I’m right’. This
manifests even as a nation, as the collective human ego. Every country is
selfish and claims to be right in doing so.

This unchecked striving for more and more, for endless growth, is a
dysfunction and a disease. This dysfunction is actually accelerating and
intensifying. It’s the same dysfunction which the cancer cells exhibit,
whose only intention is to grow, unaware of the destruction that it is
bringing about to itself. The same is the fate of the ego. In its endeavor
to intensify it is unconsciously burning itself. Like the forest fire which
destroys the forest itself, the fury fire of ego in the form of negativity,
is destroying the ego itself. Now, as the egos are drowned, the individual
consciousness evolves. In science, we know of parameters like ‘Critical
Mass’, and ‘Critical Pressure’, which indicate the point at which the
balance shifts from one side to the other. In the same way, as the
consciousness evolves at the individual level, it is raising the collective
human consciousness. Once the critical point is reached, there will be a
quantum jump in the collective consciousness. This is what we tend to miss,
because Bhagawan is presently raising the individual consciousness of man.
Nevertheless, it is quickly heading towards the critical point and thus
towards an imperative collective evolution of humanity.

‘It is darkest before dawn,
A new age shall be born’

All the sufferings that humanity undergoes at large, the geographic and
planetary changes, are the labor pains which Mother Earth is experiencing in
the birth of a new consciousness.

Swami indicated this in one of His Dassera discourses in 2005. He said,
“Within a few years, rivalry, hatred, and misunderstanding between people
will become a thing of the past in Bharat and in the world at large.”
Describing the grandeur of the Golden Age, He said, “The time is soon
approaching when all humanity will live in harmony. It is beyond all
comprehension. Its beauty is beyond all dreams.” Then He went on to say,
“Before it arrives be prepared to reveal to every living thing, the true
purpose of existence.”

Now what is it that Bhagawan wants us to be prepared for? Do we know the
true purpose? What are our roles? The answers to these questions are very
subjective, for Bhagawan Himself asserts that the role which each one of us
will play is going to be unique and valuable.

However, broadly speaking, to be a part of the solution, we must be aware of
problem and be sensitive towards its implications. The problem here is the
mind, a wonderful tool, but a deadly master. It is the nature of the mind to
dwell on the disappointments of the past and the anxieties of the future,
completely neglecting the present moment. While the truth remains that life
is always in the present. So by saying ‘Yes’ to the mind and its chatter
about the past and the future, we are saying ‘No’ to the present, that is to
say, ‘No’ to life itself. What could be more insane than this!

All the problems we see in the external world are a projection of the
turmoil of the mind. No solution which arises from the mind will solve this
problem, for the mind itself is intrinsically a part of it. The problem is
not so much the inability to think, but it is the inability to stop
thinking. Bhagawan in His adeptness puts it in two words, ‘Die-mind’.

It is from this mind identified state that Bhagawan ventures to raise us to
His level of consciousness. He explains, “Man has to be unmade and remade
with his ego destroyed and replaced with a transcendental consciousness.”
How do we play our roles in this event which takes place once in an entire
Yuga?

We have guideposts which will safely take us to the destination. The first
of those is the simplest and yet the most potent. It is prayer addressed to
our Beloved Lord. Swami Himself describes the story of the elephant Gajendra.
He says, “In the thick forest of life, a wild elephant, the mind of man,
will be roaming. This mind which is roaming becomes thirsty for sensuous
pleasures. To quench the thirst, it begins to drink from the lake of worldly
activities. The moment it does, the crocodile of attachment catches hold of
its leg. In its efforts to extricate itself, the elephant (mind) finds that
the grip of the crocodile (attachment) on its leg strengthens. Unable to
free itself, in exasperation and exhaustion, the elephant beseeches to the
Lord. In that moment, when the elephant’s vision turned towards the Lord,
God’s vision also turned towards the elephant and saves it from Samsara
(worldly life).

The second guidepost is ‘Namasmarana’. The human mind unconsciously seeks
something lasting but unfortunately seeks it in things which are by
themselves ephemeral. Only the Lord and His name last forever. Swami says,
“For a bird in the mid-ocean flying over the dark blue waters, the only
resting place is the mast of a sailing ship. It has the picture of the mast
steady in its mind; its form fixed in its eye. Similarly, the Lord is the
only refuge for the man who’s swept by storms over a restless sea. The name
of the Lord is the mast for you; remember it ever.”

Thirdly and most importantly, we should never get attached to the work we
are doing, to the roles which He’s instructed us to don. We should remember
that even without any of us, the Lord will still achieve His mission.
Recalling what Arjuna said on having the Vishwaroopa Darshan, “Oh Krishna, I
can see the entire Kaurava army plunging into your fiery mouth and meeting
their destruction.” Krishna replied, “I have willed both the battle and the
result. What remains is the completion of formalities which shall be done
with or without you.”…. “Therefore, surrendering all actions to Me, thy
thoughts concentrated on Me, the absolute and supreme Self of all, free from
selfishness and without any anticipation of reward, with mind perfectly
calm, begin thou to fight.” These are the words that should ring in our ears
as we carry out Bhagawan’s work.

As Chardin said,

“The day will come when,
After harnessing the space and the winds,
The tides and the gravitation,
We shall harness for God the energies of Love.
And on that day, for the second time
In the history of the world,
We shall have discovered fire.”

Let’s hope that day dawns soon!

Do you agree with us? How do you think Golden Age will arrive? Share with us
your thoughts at h2h@radiosai.org.